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<\/a><\/p>\nGregg, 40, is a former Senior Engineer from Apple in Cupertino, CA. He\u2019d been planning \u00a0this run for two-years. His first mile was around the track at Apple HQ. He turned in his keys, and kept going.<\/p>\n
He’s wanted to run cross-country since he was seven. And he’s taking a more circuitous route, than the standard San Francisco > New York path. His route has zigged and zagged, so he can experience more cities and communities along the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pictured above right is Pheobe Brimer, the latest and longest-serving of his support team. She drives the RV along their route, one of two vehicles. In a rear compartment (pictured below) are some of the 29 pairs of running shoes he\u2019s gone through. So far.<\/p>\n
Since you asked, he\u2019s averaged 26 to 27 miles per day. (That\u2019s five hours of motion, not counting a lunch break.) His max? 38 miles, somewhere in the Arizona desert. He\u2019s also been solo for a few stretches, for a few days.<\/p>\n He drove two vehicles using a tow bar: leaving one at the finish, then driving back to the start, they driving from the finish back to the start, then towing the second vehicle to the next leg.<\/p>\n Shown is a flag of the Firefighters Cancer Support Network that\u2019s getting signed by firefighters along the way. Here\u2019s an action shot of Engine 2 on \u201cA\u201d platoon, doing their part. \u00a0<\/p>\n Meet Keith Kirton<\/strong><\/p>\n Raleigh Fire Department Senior Firefighter Keith Kirton (above right) is the organization\u2019s director in North Carolina. And a cancer survivor. He survived kidney cancer in 2014-15 and is now a mentor for those diagnosed with kidney cancer.<\/p>\n He became a representative with Firefighter Cancer Support Network in June 2015. They helped him and his family when he was diagnosed with cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe risk of cancer in firefighters is 250 percent greater than people not in our line of work,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n \u201cResearchers found that more than two-thirds of firefighters, 68 percent, develop cancer, compared to about 22 percent for the general population.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds that the biggest thing that\u2019s grabbed his attention\u2014and everyone he\u2019s spoken with\u2014are the risks for male firefighters, who have 2.02 times the risk for testicular cancer, and 1.28 times the risk for prostate cancer, and that\u2019s even higher in black male firefighters.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can find all the information you need on our web site,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can also call the national office and request a class be taught at your fire or EMS department free of charge.\u201d<\/p>\n Heading North<\/strong><\/p>\n Where\u2019s Matty headed next?<\/p>\n He\u2019s going north, and will be running from Raleigh to Wake Forest to Henderson to Petersburg to Richmond.<\/p>\n Firefighters have a higher risk for cancer, and Matty Gregg wants the world to hear that, and support the Firefighter Cancer Support Network.<\/p>\n To donate to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, visit https:\/\/www.classy.org\/fundraiser\/1633587 [link expired]<\/p>\n To learn more about the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, visit https:\/\/firefightercancersupport.org\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n To learn more about Matty, visit http:\/\/www.mattygregg.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n And here’s a news story<\/a> from March, about Matty.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n